SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
I had a board when I was probably about 12 that an older local guy gave me. I have no idea as to the specs; all I remember is that it was a homemade single fin, heavy as shit, about 9' long, super drawn pintail and absolutely no rocker...the thing was an absolute plank. When he gave it to me he said, "It doesn't turn too good. But once you get it into the wave...just stand right there...", (there was a dark spot in the wax, where it was built up), "...and it will haul ass!"
I was still learning to surf. As a goofy foot, I could go left pretty confidently...but rights were not natural for me yet. I paddled that board out many time, took off and pearled, or caught an edge, or somehow or another...fucked up. It was pretty frustrating, and he was right..."It didn't turn too good".
I went back to my other board, which was a Byrne twin fin, that I had pretty wired. A classic September swell hit that year, offshore winds with perfect overhead waves. I ditched alot of school that fall. Surfing that Byrne one afternoon into the inside closeout, I came up to find 2 pieces of surfboard. I trudged home, got the plank and paddled back out.
After wrestling this beast to the outside, I sat and waited. A peak showed on the horizon and I scrambled to get into position for the left...I couldn't make it far enough over though and had to opt for the right. They were big fat soft waves, and I paddled into it easily. I started angling right and the wave hit the inside sandbar and walled up. I slid my right foot onto the spot and as promised, the board took off like a rocket, racing down the line. I rode that wave into the inside and couldn't believe how fast the board went. I rode that board for the next few days with similar results...right and left.
When the swell died, the board's magic seemed to go with it. On smaller waves it was tough to swing around and it simply was sluggish on anything less than head high, so I picked up a new board pretty quickly. I still brought out the plank when the waves got big, as long as it wasn't too hollow and you could get in early. I can't remember what happened to the board...it probably sat in my mom's yard and wasted away. I wish I still had it.
Local Report:
Waves were nice this morning, but the tide just isn't right... Outside was breaking big, and the shorepound was rough, ...I hung out in the middle section...hope springs eternal. Got some anemic rides despite the size... paddled out into an absolutely gorgeous rainbow that got brighter as the sun came up. Whale spouted, sea lions, and the waves glowed as the rising sun shone through the back. Mostly I just floated and swam around, the tide was really sucking out.~stiffler
...hit the water solo about 5:45 this morning...found some nice peelers...including a couple of crouched down almost-barrels. The waves were steep and fast...It was a gorgeous morning...bright sunrise, rainbow, sea life, and solitude.~holddown
...checked out a left that had a couple of people on it, heard it was good yesterday....Well overhead on the sets with a nice warble to it, good to have a shortboard in the back, it's been a while...~gazsurf
S WIND 15 KT DECREASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER DARK.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
Sometimes I wish that there still regular shipwrecks on the Oregon coast...especially if they'd produce peaks off the bow like this one!
Up early. In the water by about 8am. Caught some fun rights off a well known cape. Waves weren't anything too special..still, very surprising that there were only 3 others in the water. Tide came in about 10am and the waves mushed out. Went looking later in the afternoon for the left that started firing on Tuesday to no avail. Saw a guy give it a go at the same spot, but it was close out after close out.
W TO NW WIND 10 KT...BACKING TO SW IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 5 TO 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
Surf looked pretty dismal this morning. A solid south wind was churning things up and things just were not lining up. Drove south, heked a 1/2 dozen spots that confirmed my fears. Headed back north, decided to check spot I hadn't on the way down. To my surprise, on a pretty low tide, things seemed to be working. Outside sets were reforming on the inside sandbar and sending a few lefts reeling down the beach. Suited up and got out there in time to pick off about 5 waves, before the tide filled in. Saw another peak down the beach and further out that seemed to be working, so I paddled down for a look. Error! After getting bounced hard 3 times I called it a morning.
Yesterday, I checked a few spots to the north. Again, things were looking pretty weak. There were a few peaks that looked promising but rocky, so I opted to return to the house. Sunny and warm in March on the Oregon Coast. Sitting on the beach with the kids, I watched as a beachbreack left came alive. I thought it wouldn't last, but after 15 minutes of mind surfing. I decided to give it a go. It was great, easy take off on a mushy peak that just bowled and got bigger as it reeled left aross the sandbar dissapating into a channel about 25 yards down the line. Followed by a semi-leisurely paddle back out. The only thing lacking was my stamina, after being out of the water since February with a foot injury I was sucking wind. Still caught about 8 waves, 3 of which were really fun.
Hope it turns back on today at high tide!
Oh yeah, it's Spring Break...
E WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Suction + Tension = Hang Ten
As we look through the magazines we see lots of photos of the ‘Hang Ten’. Virtually all ‘Tens’ are impressive, yet certain types are more impressive than others. These are the ones where the rider is far back in the pocket in the most critical part of the wave, but he looks calm and poised. The board is in perfect trim while the front of the board and rider are hanging above the water. Upon closer inspection it looks impossible. How does it happen? Let’s take a deep look at the forces at work.
Suction: First to get to the ten, the board must be sucked into the wave. Gentle curves change water flow over the board and create suction. Round rails suck water over the deck of the board. The weight of the water helps stabilize or counter balance the board so the rider can get to and stay on the nose. Also, curve through the bottom of the board will suck the board to the wave. This suction from the bottom of the board starts happening when going fast due to the long bottom curve.
To see how suction works, take a spoon and put the rounded end under the faucet. If you have never done this, you may be shocked by how much a spoon is sucked into the stream of water. The same forces make hanging ten possible.
Forward Trim
A long noseride in trim takes preparation. First, you must have a feel for your board. The board’s dynamics dictate where you’ll go and what you’ll do. As discussed earlier, the flat bottomed/low-railed boards will noseride further out on the flatter sections while the softer railed boards will hang ten in the steeper sections. On the flat-bottom boards, when you are looking down the line and a nice section is forming, the best rule is to ‘charge’ the nose early. The basic goal is to stay on the nose as long as possible before the wave gets too steep. On a long, slow point you can hang five for a long time, or if you are very light, hang ten. The downside is that as the wave gets steeper and things start to get exciting, you’ve got to back-off or slide-out sideways. Even worse, as the wave gets steeper the crowd takes notice of you and just as they hope to see you hang ten, you back-off to keep your fin in the water.
If you are on a proper noserider, charging the nose too early is a critical flaw. You have to pick your line so that you’ll get maximum speed while not out-running the steep section. It’s all about cutting back and stalling before the section steepens up. The back door approach is best: wait as long as possible before positioning the board parallel with the wave and starting the walk. If you walk too early, the board will stall and you’ll sink out the back of the wave, or you will not be able to accelerate fast enough to keep up with the wave when it starts to peel.
Noseriding is about keeping your hips to your ankles loose. You can’t force anything while hanging ten. The best approach is to watch the wave get very steep around you and just keep walking. Hang your toes over and just relax. A properly balanced noserider will find it’s own trim while a flat-bottom will spin out no matter what. The most important thing is to keep focusing down the line and aim the board with your toes to the next section. On a mushy wave, the wave may break around you and you can still be hanging ten. On a hollow wave, the lip may be inches from your hips, but do not back down. Just bend your knees and look to the shoulder. Once you see the wave slowing, it is time to back-off the nose, but if the wave is just slowing you can un-weight on the inside rail and push down on the outside rail. This slows the board while keeping it in trim as the next section forms.
There is a test to find out if you are in good trim. If you can take your hand and put it into the lip of the wave while you’re on the nose, you are in trim. If you can’t, then there is another world of imp0rovement.
~from Tom Wegner at noseriding.com
Local Report:
The North Coast was fine this morning too. I was the 1st guy in the water and caught my share. As the tide started to go out, the waves got better-more top to bottom and really clean. A couple of feet overhead, but they had some juice to them too and they held up. The peak was shifting all over and if you were in the right spot, a bowl would be all yours. Waves had to be feathering to catch 'em and I got a couple of really nice long rights.~finger
...perfect morning, light offshore and all alone for hours...sets were a couple feet overhead and holding up.~sooloo
SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT E WIND 5 TO 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Sometimes one guy sits far outside the pack. Quiet, and letting their acts speak for them. No claiming, chest pounding or boasting...just surfing the biggest and best waves without fear. Not one to surf with the pack, he moves from wave frontier to wave frontier...looking for his own peak and going his own way.
Pat Curren was one of the North Shore big wave pioneers. The image of him walking across the untracked sand of Waimea with huge gun under his arm is one of surfing's indelible moments. He wasn't the best surfer nor the most famous, he didn't train for surfing big waves...aside from smoking cigs and drinking beer. But when it came to guts, Curren had more than most.
Among a group of now legendary big wave riders...Greg Noll, Mickey Munoz, Ricky Grigg, Jose Angel, Buzzy Trent and others...Curren was in many ways the epitome of the all-around waterman. He dove for his food, slept where he could and basically survived off the land...surfing when he wanted and shaping the best boards for riding the biggest waves Hawaii had to offer.
His son Tom is arguably one of the best surfers in history and his fame contrasted with Pat's need for solitude and simplicity. He lived in the jungles of Costa Rica, leaving for Baja when it was discovered and became a surf destination. He still shapes the occasional perfect big wave foil that, sadly, rarely sees the water due to their immense value to collectors.
N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
SW SWELL 8 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT W WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 9 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
Not a specific break per se...although plenty of beach break surf in the vicinity. The addition of rip rap to area beaches seems to have adversely affected bottom contours from what I have experienced in surfing there over the past 12 years or so.
This ghost forest of Sitka spruce roots and stumps has likely been buried and exposed on this Oregon beach through the years. Core samples have revealed them to be ancient trees, about 2,000 years old. Many may have been as large as 6 feet in diameter.
Sitkas still grow nearby on ridgeline above the beach. A massive subduction zone earthquake, estimated to have been about magnitude 9 and to have occurred simultaneously along a 1200 km length of coast in January of 1700, dropped the shoreline into the surf. The quake generated tsunamis that devastated the shoreline, snapping the trees to stumps and depositing sand from offshore sandbars to bury them.
Evidence of these quakes and tsunamis are detectable all along the Pacific Northwest coast. Geologic evidence of sand sheets have been found in areas as high as 18 meters above sea level, which indicates a tsunami of at least that height.
A 2 meter high wave struck Japan on January 27th, 1700 and Pacific Northwest Coastal Indians have oral traditions that tell of giant waves that swept away villages on a cold winter night. Archeologists have have found buried villages strewn with debris.
Local Report:
...there were waves. The tide shut down the righthander that was good last weekend, then the peaks just south of that...500 yards south...started getting into 6' peaks that often reeled off pretty sweetly.~gazsurf
S WIND 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 5 FT.
SW SWELL 12 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FOOT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
Oregon isn't the only place with big surf breaking off of massive headlands. This is a break in Spain's Basque country.
SE WIND 25 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT OUTER WATERS...BECOMING S 30 TO 35 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 15 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT...EASING TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. COMBINED SEAS 16 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
Looking reasonably calm this am...but sure to be a stiff breeze later today. There is one place where the winds die down...when you tuck into a barrel. Everything goes silent...the silent roar...the calm in the eye of the maelstrom...even when you barely fit!
Local Report:
Kinda intimidating out there today. Still got some nice head high rights at the super secret spot. Just had to put up with regular cleanup sets that would bulldoze through. Caught it at the right part of the tide and got some long fast drops. Started getting lumpy and weird as the tide dropped.~fossilgrom
S WIND 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT IN THE MORNING.
COMBINED SEAS 14 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 17 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
Checked this spot yesterday...among others...breaking much larger than other more likely spots. Conditions yesterday looked promising...but bumpiness and south winds contributed to shut down the surf pretty effectivley...perhaps I should change the name of this blog to "No Surf in Oregon".
S WIND 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING S 15 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT...BUILDING TO 4 FT.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND RISING TO 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 12 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS.
I used to check this spot many times when I worked on the central coast years ago...I don't make it down there as much anymore. I have seen this wave working on several occasions...there are several "no go" factors. Long paddle, guaranteed solo session...but the biggest factor is the nearby tourist attraction...Sea Lions Caves.
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SE WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
W SWELL 7 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
Supposedly shot in Oregon...who can say for sure? Still, a pretty nice shot wherever it is. Gotta love backlit afternoon waves in Oregon...clean!
Local Report:
Evening session at XX ... Kind of fickle at times but I caught loads of good waves, lots of fast sections, long rides.~gills
E WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 6 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
.TONIGHT...E WIND 10 KT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
As swell size drops...board size grows...for me at least. Angling towards the peak, swinging it all the way around...sink the tail, stall and cross step to the nose.
Local Report:
Hit the south end of XX an hour or two before the low tide..found some gutless rights with a few limp lefts tossed in to keep it fair and balanced...incoming tide didn't seem to improve the conditions as it mushed out...~smithgrind
N WIND 10 KT...BECOMING NW 15 TO 20 KT THIS AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 3 FT. NW SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT N WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
NW SWELL 7 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
Somehow...sitting on a rocky northwest beach, in the rain and wind, encased in about 5 millimeters of rubber isn't as conducive to sitting in a full lotus position, meditating with your zen surf master.
W WIND 15 KT...BECOMING NW 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS 25 KT THIS AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 5 FT. W SWELL 13 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT NW WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS 25 KT IN THE EVENING.
WIND WAVES 4 FT.
NW SWELL 9 FT N TO 11 FT S.
PERIOD OF 11 SECONDS.
You may have seen Barry Britton's work in a recent issue of The Surfer's Journal. The description from this 1999 poster reads:
"This is the Pilot who surfs at Easkey. He does play the accordion while waiting for the right conditions. And he turned 50 this year."
SE WIND 25 TO 30 KT...VEERING TO S. GUSTS UP TO 40 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 14 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND 25 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 35 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 16 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS.
Another typical Oregon rivermouth break...way bigger than it looks! Misinformation, misdirection and outright fabrication...there are no waves in Oregon.
Local Report:
4:30...surfing some nice rights with a little punch. A huge squall rolled through and made things interesting...shielded from the onslaught...manage(d) to get blown off my board several times just sitting there. The outside stuff and a low angle face, but in the middle section it steepened up quite a bit and made for good speed, although the rocky non-beach made you think twice about pushing it.~stiffler
...the sky had gone black, and the water seemed to be glowing an eerie, beautiful green. Out of nowhere, a huge flock of seagulls started swooping around, and there was suddenly a calm...and the strong upwelling fishy sea scent in the air...thought..."it might be time to paddle in"...transfixed for a moment about how glassy it had gotten, trying to discern where the water stopped and the sky started. Peering into the haze, something white caught my attention, the cresting lip of a wave!! "Oh shiiii", then...bulldozed by a big ol' f'ing wave. Blew off (the)board...tumbled down the face, and...the old "am I swimming up?...stay calm." ...felt that forward and back swooshing motion of another wave going over, and then made the surface...gathered (the) board, and started paddling in...got to the beach...looked out, and could barely make out the silhouetted form of XXX carving up and down on yet another wave...assume he came in before the tide change.
S WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
WIND WAVES 3 FT... BUILDING TO 6 FT.
W SWELL 12 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
S WIND 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 6 FT.
W SWELL 12 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Nothing funner than making your way out, out, out into the lineup...duck diving and dodging...near misses and scraping over the tops of big surf...only to find yourself face to face with a top to bottom clean up wave that's going to eliminate all your efforts and hard work. It's a ditch situation for even the most experienced...you dive for the bottom and pray your leash is up to the task.
S WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH A FEW GUSTS TO 25 KT THIS MORNING.
WIND EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT THIS AFTERNOON.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.
S SWELL 10 FT AT 7 SECONDS...BUILDING TO SW 12 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT. W SWELL 13 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
13 foot swell at 13 seconds...building swell with a building period. I'd even surf it on a Friday the 13th. Looks rideable...
SE WIND 25 TO 30 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 10 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT S WIND 20 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 6 FT...SUBSIDING TO 3 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SW SWELL 9 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
Your guess is as good as mine. Somewhere in Oregon...it's not too hard to narrow it down from the angle and height of the shot. Fun wave in any case.
Local Report:
...solo about 10:30 this morning on the 7-4. ...searched up and down the beach for a consistent peak, but it was lumpy and the wind was mostly S. ...managed to catch a few shoulder high peaks, but it was a forgettable session.~holddown
...paddled out, caught one nice wave...and then the wind hit.~stiffler
N WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FEET.
NW SWELL 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT SW WIND 5 TO 10 KT...BACKING TO S AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
This was the shot, and the surfer, that did it for me when I was coming up. I had this shot on my wall (along with alot of others), and Lopez' casual style was the epitome of what surfing was about for me, then. I learned about all of the other style masters when I was older...Phil Edwards, Billy Hamilton, Skip Frye (especially)...but Gerry Lopez had every quality I wanted to emulate...smooth, minimal, pure and unflappable.
Local Report:
...some nice peaks early, but it steadily mushed as the swell dropped and the tide flooded.~holddown
Lumpy and retarded at ***** **** today~Massy
SE WIND 5 KT...BACKING TO N. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 15 FT AT 13 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 13 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
The drop sets it all up. If you aren't quick to your feet, the wave makes the decision for you. It has to be an instinctive, almost automatic action. If you have to think about it, or if you can't get your feet under you in one smooth movement...the wave has already gone by.
Local Report:
Sunny, nice little waves, plenty to go around~stiffler
...went out for about 90 minutes at high tide. ...caught two waves and endured some heavy beatings. ...last wave was a huge right with a clean face that I rode almost to the beach before it closed out. ...It was a fun session, but a little sketchy and a lot of work.~holddown
Close interval, lumpy, heavin' and heavy on Saturday afternoon. The current was sweepin' through the take off zone like a recently undammed river. The quarter mile paddle out took at least 15 duck dives to get through. Twice I set up next to the rock and 10 sec later I was fifty feet past it. Only one other face in the line-up, we both pulled into a few long ones and called it a sesion.~jacob
Double up on the posts and pics today...courtesy of Team Kook...
That right reeling off the cape...over 20' surf...tow in anyone?
Local Report:
...hopes of finding some peelers off of the jetty at low tide. Swell was too north, tide was too low...~holddown
...some nice sized sets sweeping into a number of breaks...noone out...a little lumpy with the tide a little less than optimal but every five minutes you could count on a HH to OH set...about an hour into the session the lumps layed down to a smooth glass. ...looking down the cliff an occassional set would light up the point...as the tide dropped the sets got more solid...~pro moe
W WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 3 FT... SUBSIDING TO 1 FOOT IN THE AFTERNOON.
NW SWELL 23 FT AT 15 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 19 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
CHANGING TO W WIND 5 TO 10 KT...BACKING TO SE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 1 FOOT.
NW SWELL 19 FT AT 14 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 17 FT AT 14 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
If you surf in Oregon, you've surfed around offshore monoliths like this famous one. They're all over the Oregon coast. I don't know why, but everytime I have surfed near a rock like this I get definite "sharky" vibes...I don't have the same feeling surfing off headlands, rivermouths or jetty complexes.
Local Report:
...an empty lineup. Six to Eight foot set waves breaking over the shallow reef.~jacob
...got me some shoulder to head perfection all alone.~sooloo
W WIND 20 TO 25 KT.
A FEW GUSTS TO 30 KT NEAR COASTAL GAPS.
WINDS EASING TO 15 TO 20 KT LATE.
WIND WAVES 5 FT.
NW SWELL 22 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
CGANGING TO:
W WIND 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
NW SWELL 24 FT AT 14 SECONDS. e tape
I pulled this pic from another blog...I love everything about it; the plywood, the peeling tape, the fading image of a perfect tube...It also seems to remind me of being in spare shaping rooms, where only a select few images were deemed worthy to have a place in the creative space. The trophy shots were all frames and mounted in the showroom. I prefer the backside...
Local Report:
...the bar at ******* *** was horrible and treacherous looking. High winds, high tide, cold and raining.~stiffler
S WIND 30 TO 40 KT WITH GUSTS TO 45 KT.
COMBINED SEAS 13 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS...
BUILDING TO 16 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON.
W WIND 25 TO 30 KT.
COMBINED SEAS BUILDING TO 23 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 11 SECONDS.
This small cove, approximately one-third of a mile (0.5 km) in diameter, is located on the Oregon coast. A portion of the cove is protected as part of a State Park.
In 1978, British amateur historian Bob Ward proposed that the Cove was the location where Francis Drake spent the summer of 1579 during his circumnavigation of the globe by sea. The exact location of Drake's landing spot, at which he claimed a portion of the west coast of North America as "New Albion", has long been a mystery. It is usually assumed to be in northern California on the coast of Marin County.
Ward proposed that this Oregon cove as the actual spot of Drake's landing based on its similarity to a 16th century map made by Jodocus Hondius. Ward theorized that Drake may have conspired with Queen Elizabeth I to mislead the Spanish about the true location to keep the Spanish from discovering Puget Sound, which Ward believes Drake thought was the Northwest Passage.
One longstanding puzzling feature of the Hondius map is the small island on the peninsula protecting the cove. According to Ward, a portion of the peninsula protecting the cove is submerged at high tide creating a similar island.
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT.
W SWELL 10 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
CHANGING TO SW WIND 20 TO 25 KT...
BECOMING S 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
COMBINED SEAS 11 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
There's something inherently satisfying about carving a huge frontside turn off the top. Just burying a rail and swinging it all the way around. There's no chatter, no sideslip, no questions...power gouge...just solid, smooth flow, like a hand moving against water.
S WIND 30 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 17 TO 20 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS... SUBSIDING TO 15 TO 17 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 12 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. W WIND 20 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 5 FT. SW SWELL 13 TO 15 FT AT 10 SECONDS...BECOMING W 11 FT AT 10 SECONDS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
I always loved this pic. David listens to the surf guru while the grom peers intently at the board artwork. I have a feeling there was more to the moment than meets the eye...or the mind...or the hookah.
S WIND 25 TO 30 KT...EASING TO 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTS UP TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 18 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 11 SECONDS. S WIND 25 TO 30 KT...RISING TO 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT. COMBINED SEAS 18 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
Sounds worse than it is. Takes a little effort to get there. Not always worth the time. Remote. Rocky. Toothy.
SE WIND 20 TO 25 KT RISING TO 25 TO 30 KT THIS AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 9 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS. CHANGING TO S WIND 30 TO 35 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT. COMBINED SEAS 12 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 8 SECONDS.
When I first started surfing in Oregon it was after a long, forced layoff. It's hard to surf when you live in Detroit, Michigan. After 2 years, I headed back west and with no job, no kids and a wife that worked full-time I was able to spend many long uninterrupted days on the coast, exploring southern Washington to the central Oregon coast and searching out little nooks and crannies where no one surfed...ever.
I still made the requisite visits to the popular coves, points and beachbreaks; but when they weren't working I searched out and surfed more unlikely spots. A cove in the Columbia river that worked when the buoys were over 30', under a bay bridge in the same conditions, paddling across rivermouths and inside jetty complexes, and surfing, what I now recognize as, extremely dangerous reef breaks that I would never consider paddling out to now.
I miss the free time and the search for surf. I still check some of those spots but it's pretty rare to find them working. If you live there and can be there when they happen, that's great. Now, I know I can surf on Tuesday and so am at the mercy of whatever conditions occur on that day. You hope for the best and pray the tides are right, that you make the right decision to head north or south, and that you don't pass on a spot to head an hour further only to find even worse conditions.
Local Report:
...went out around noonish, caught many waves, largest was head high...No swell, started filling in while I was out. Very inconsistent.
...small and fun, even a longboard out there. Perfectly shaped head high waves peeling with just a couple guys out. Mellow drops long rides no crowd.
E WIND 10 KT THIS MORNING BECOMING SW THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FOOT. W SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS. SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BACKING TO S AFTER MIDNIGHT.
WIND WAVES 2 FT. W SWELL 8 FT AT 11 SECONDS. CHANCE OF RAIN.
No feeling is better than paddling out on into lined up surf that allows you to tuck away, fade deeper and deeper and just race that lip down the line.
Local Report:
...went out on the 9-0 high performance LB in the late morning and stayed out for about two hours. It was tricky, closing out, and too fast, but every now and then I found an overhead wave to paddle into. My last wave was well over head with a steep drop and a sketchy bottom turn. I raced for the corner, but it pitched up and barely gave me a path to straighten out. I proned it in as it closed out, then stood back up as it reformed into a little bowl. I thought I was going to pearl, but I made it through the little inside section, then went prone again and called it a day.
S WIND 25 TO 30 KT...BECOMING SW 20 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 21 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 17 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS IN THE
AFTERNOON. CHANGING TO S WIND 15 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SW 5 TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 15 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
Some effort required. Not easy to check. The reward can be great. Or ya can get shut out. I remember one day catching it overhead with about 10 guys on it. Trading waves. Trading smiles. No vibes. Rare. 4 hours of great waves. Dry hair paddles. Surfed out. Headed in. Packed up. Started the cutback trudge. Guys coming down the trail. Break into the open. Look out. Jaws drop. "It's working! It's working", they yell. As they run down the trail.
S WIND 30 TO 40 KT. COMBINED SEAS 9 FT...BUILDING TO 13 FT BY LATE AFTERNOON. DOMINANT PERIOD 9 SECONDS. CHANGING TO S WIND 30 TO 35 KT...BECOMING 35 TO 45 KT BY MIDNIGHT. COMBINED SEAS 13 FT...BUILDING TO 20 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. DOMINANT PERIOD 10 SECONDS.
Local Report:
...for all you surfers out there, Central coast conditions as of 12:25, choppy, gusty, swell noticeably from the southwest. Lumpy disorganized waves waist to head high, no shoulder, breaking with no rhyme or reason.
